Chronic post-surgical pain impacts the majority of amputees, with more than half experiencing neuralgic residual limb pain. As part of the Veterans Integrated Pain Evaluation Research (VIPER) study, investigators examined links between systemic inflammatory mediator levels and chronic residual limb pain. Study results suggest that chronic post-amputation residual limb pain is associated with excessive inflammatory response to injury or to inadequate resolution of the post-injury inflammatory state. The impact of pain catastrophizing on residual limb pain may be due in part to common underlying inflammatory mechanisms. Dr. Buchheit, chief of Duke Anesthesiology’s Pain Medicine Division and Dr. Hung-Lun (John) Hsia, co-authored this paper.

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